A Whiter Shade of Pale

I got out of tennis lesson in the evening to meet my friends for dinner yesterday. On the bus ride to town, I met Jieyun & Rachel. I found out from JY that she's doing dressmaking at Lasalle now. So exciting! I'm gonna get her to tailor my dresses once she finishes the course. Heheh. So after that I met Chris & his gf, Sher, Harry, Mad & Han at Out of the Pan at Rafflescity. I missed their crepes so bad! Because it is so good. :) I was feeling quite cheated when there wasnt the usual UOB discount. Its 30th Dec wad... Not even NYE. Oh well, but dinner was really nice.

It's 30 Dec and the new year is looming. Unlike 90% of the world's population, me together with all the Emo losers are dreading the new year because School is starting on 3rd Jan. Damn, we have to start school with the primary school kiddos PLUS sacrifice our precious weekends for the make up lessons. THANKS A LOT. What a dampener.

The approaching 2007 got me thinking about my life because i'm gonna turn 20 in 6 months time. I think i'll miss the third-"teen", four"teen" & all the "teen"s which ive experienced. This "teen"-ness has always been a convenient excuse for all things childish & ridiculous. I remember being naive- like engaging in immature secondary school politics, talking ills about other people behind their backs, throwing tantrums unnecessarily, breaking down and brawling my eyes out at the most trival things. Fighting with my younger brother over the TV, having numerous cold wars with my mom over lousy academic results, arguing over sleepovers & curfews. Haha. Such typical teenage angst huh? Well... I'm glad I grew up. At least, I think I've mellowed quite a bit. Tell me if I'm being a whiny bitch and i should just get a life. Go ahead, i appreciate honesty. (Just tell it to me nicely, ok?)

I remember being so full of myself during the teenage years, especially at 13. It's like phoar- I'm finally a full-fledged TEEN now and i expected the freedom which came with it. Blame it on American Literature. Their teens seem to be mini-adults. Oh, even my trusty characters of the homegrown Bookworm gang had considerable freedom- like going out without any adult chaperones. I guess being the only girl among 3 children made my parents more protective of me too. However, while my mom was strict, she wasnt exactly unreasonable. Thankfully, the reins have been loosened, so now i can spend the night out without having my parents freaking out and calling the police.

I believe i'm in a reflective mode today. Just a while earlier, I Msn-ed an old guy friend whom i havnt talked to in ages. The last time we talked was probably about 6 months ago, at my surprise 19th birthday dinner. We used to be much closer, like buddies, but we sort of had something going on (though we were in self-denial most of the time). Unfortunately, we have drifted apart since june2004, after we decided to "remain friends". Haha, its probably one of the most hated phrases in the world today. Right?

Anyway, that made me wonder if our friendship was that shallow? Or is it that a girl and a guy are unable have a platonic relationship after a certain degree of closeness? I really hope that my first theory is wrong. I'd rather choose to believe that the drifting apart was a natural process of letting go of something dear and also the consequential process of accepting the loss. Staying distant makes it easier. So... i have faith that our friendship wasnt that superficial and that we can reclaim our friendship soon! When we have more time for people outside the current 1st & 2nd degree circle of friends. This list of social priorities is flexible, some positions are transient. so... just try get into my good books. Heheh- you know what to do!

I came home last night and saw my younger brother sleeping in the living room. This morning I found out that his room had some form of self-induced earthquake causing the tiles to explode. Literally! So the tiles are like broken or pushed upwards. This has caused much distress to my mom- shes paranoid that the entire house will collapse soon.

Anyway whassup with clubs & their lack of air-conditioning? Turn up the power man. I was feeling way too warm for comfort in DblO. Anyway, its packed with youngish mats & minahs. The age group is probably like 18-25(MAX).

Firstly, Ivy, as usual pangseh-ed us. She said she fell sick, so i'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Next, Kinseng came as her substitute, which was pretty alright cause Huiting didnt feel awkward around him. Then, HT didnt bring any proper ID which resulted in the door bitch giving her some trouble. After waiting for forever, we finally got onto the dancefloor & it seems like mats like me! Woohoo. Haha. Unfortunately, i just wanna have fun with my own friends & keep a low profile at the same time. Sorry dudes- Go relac one corner lah! After K returned with some gross (& super strong) AK-47 cocktail, he managed to get HT drunk. Alamaks. So getting him down was a mistake right? For the rest of night, i was practically holding HT up. Haha, at least she wasnt wasted.

Talking about getting all drunk and wasted, maybe the drinks in DblO are too cheap. I see so many girls staggering about & throwing up in the restroom. Outside, tipsy girls are being held by their (usually guy)friends. When i was waiting to collect my stuff from the deposit, this poor girl just puked everywhere. These are times when i prefer MOS or clubs with older people, because I am usually spared from witnessing these scenes.

I dont understand why people let themselves get wasted. U mean they enjoy hangovers? The gagging & puking? Or maybe its the loss of control experience, when they cant focus anymore. Ultimately, I think its just UNGLAM. Plus, you will just be an annoying burden on your friends who intended to have some fun. If u puke at them, its worse. So really... Theres no point listening to your ego, believing that you have good alcohol tolerance cause if you think this way, theres already no limit to what you think you are capable of handling.

There were policemen on patrol last night. Too many drink & drive cases recently i think. Please, drive safely. Nobody wants to go to the hospital on New Years Day.

1. I opened my window this morning & found a half-dead lizard staring back at me accusingly, as if I was the one which closed the window on it, which somewhat squashed it the entire night. ITS NOT ME! I was seriously scared by its cold & penetrating beady eyes. Next, I noticed a swarm of ants around it so I guess this lizard is gonna be their feast today. After Brunch, i came back with the intention of getting a brave soul to remove the lizard for me but Mr Lizard disappeared!!! I think the ants really got him. Rest in peace (pieces).

2. My maid bought me the worlds largest chocolate cookie I've ever seen!

HELLOoooo, PUB'd better be catching all of this water from this horrible rainy season (at least to make up for the islandwide floods, urgh). I'm sure that this amount of rain can probably last us for an entire year if we really caught everything. A godsend huh? I am so darn sick of the rain. I can never have dry feet or dry hair these days. Even my birkenstocks grew mouldy!!! The sun is MIA so I cant sun my birkies or my boots. Clothes from the China trip are still in plastic bags, because they cant be washed due to the incessant rain. I have to brave the rain EVERYTIME i head out the house. I blame my regular bad hair days on the wet weather too.

So yesterday's afternoon was spent browsing the ulu shops in the ulu shopping centres in Chinatown with WH. Thankfully, we got some great bargains! However, we got really turned off after too many blingbling beads/arts&crafts shops there.
Tip1: Bring your shades with you when you visit.
Tip2: "Putu Piring" is NOT the same as my beloved "Tutu Kueh". The latter is much better, honest! The former is the Malay's version of Tutu Kueh- it is filled with gula melaka (palm sugar) and served with salted shredded coconut. (I thought it tasted kinda weird.) It is SUPER fluffy & spongy like a rice cake, whereas the Chinese ones are flat & dense, with lovely, juicy, sweet brown shredded coconut fillings.

Next, we met the (Extremely LATE) Ivy in town for a short while to exchange presents & bits of each other's lives. Then, i went to a gathering organised by Zhenghan, at his place called Pine Grove. It was pretty alright, although I had to trek through the mud & rain to his place. Our dining setting was near the poolside with leaky shelters, making my stuff & the guests pretty wet. We stayed put until around 11pm. The 3 late-comers finally arrived after 11pm. I suppose we caught up with each other for quite abit, since it was an intimate party of 5 or 6. I dont remember having so much red wine & beer at one sitting. Haha- all thanks to my brilliant drinking games.

I finally went to visit the GYM this afternoon, after eons. The wet weather & late nights put me off getting some muscle ache, but i'm glad i went just now. After dinner i pigged out on 武大郎biscuits from Shanghai. I miss China ( for the 1st time in my life! School must be really bad...)

Bad internet connection from the Taiwan Quake has resulted in boredom-
From SAM's blog:

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins ( i want!)
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid ( i want!)
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone ( i want!)
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped ( i want!)
11. Visited Paris ( i want!)
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights ( i want!)
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa ( i want!)
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon ( i want!)
22. Watched a meteor shower ( i want!)
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse ( i wish!)
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight ( i want!)
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse (only partial)
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country ( i want!)
44. Watched wild whales ( i want!)
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe ( i want!)
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving ( I've got no guts...)
51. Visited Ireland ( i want!)
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan ( i want!)
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving ( Snorkelling can?)
62. Kissed in the rain ( So romantic! Make it come true for me then? Haha)
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken ( Seemingly impossible...)
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days ( I will die, honest.)
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest ( I Almost did. Haha.)
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Rio Grande River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas ( i want!)
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date ( Err...)
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house ( i want!)
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds ( If i did, this means that I have dissipated into thin air.)
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray ( jellyfish can?)
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a radio show ( i wish...)
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears (ew)
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes ( maybe? I dont know! )
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream ( Soon...)
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head (no choice, right?!)
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

So that was yesterday. A leisurely Christmas eve afternoon, spent with Aziz & Huiting, stuffing ourselves at PizzaHut. After which, we tried to relive our childhood in Toys R Us. Haha. I've just realised that I've confused Bert & Ernie for the past few years. OOPS. BUT, I cant believe that AZ knows Sesame Street better than I do & is completely ignorant about Charlotte's Web. Haha. Well, kids have it all these days. I dont remember having this MIND-BOGGLING array of toys available to me in my childhood. Movie was that- HT & I loved it, I hope AZ did too. I mean, we forced him into watching a mandarin movie. Haha. Well, he learnt "睡觉" & "啤酒" from the movie. So it shouldnt be that bad right?

After evening movie, i rushed to dinner with my family at ToaPayoh's Fortunate Restaurant. The usual seafood stuff. Straight after I got home, i set off towards Tanu's home. Because she had very kindly invited us over for an intimate Xmas gathering. I had a 2nd dinner at her place- some cake, salad & chapati, making me really, really full. I love her sister's dog. Shes as hyper & noisy as Mervyn's nephew!!! Anyway, we basically spent the rest of the night playing the HARRYPOTTER version of cluedo. Haha, can you believe it?

This morning, i was called up at the unholy hour of 9am to go have bak ku teh breakfast with my family. YAWN. I dont think i've even done with the digesting of the entire week's food yet. After a mediocre meal at Balestier, I went to Bishan to meet my friends. We were supposed to have steamboat. I swear, for the rare times in my life, i felt turned off by food. (Except of CANDY CANES) So i had a bit, before we played mahjong & cluedo for the rest of the day. We even managed to play Jenga/UNO stacko with Chris's Blingbling mahjong tiles. Haha.

Simple times spent with my old friends mean alot to me. Thanks to Chris for letting us mess up his place. Thanks to Mad who tried organising it & for the lovely candle. Thanks to Hua for the Too-small/Too-long T-shirt. Thanks to everyone who came today & tahan-ed my "i'm gonna puke any moment" mood. Merry Xmas! I'm giving this out for Xmas next year.

22nd Dec
5pm- Deep's Housewarming
I was happened to be the first guest. Haha. I was thus honoured to view the house & its owners in the preparation stage. Deep's new apartment is rather spacious & extremely windy, to the extent that it managed to whip my hair into tangles. However, it was all made up for by Deep's mother. Because she is such a darling towards me, treating me with such warmth, I cant help but like her alot.

6pm- Sam's 21st Birthday Party
Since i spent most of my time there waiting for Sam to reach home, SMSing & making small talk with Marie, I dont think it was really fruitful. Sam's NS friends were early as well, but they talked among themselves exclusively and I didnt bother to interrupt their conversation. I hope his party was a success & that he liked the present. I was honestly relieved to get into Noel's car. I had stayed too long already.

7pm- TRAFFIC JAM!
I hate the year end jams. The traffic is as clogged up as the drains these days. ANNOYING.

8pm- Xmas gathering at Mervyn's place
We finally arrived at his place, warmly welcomed by Aloysious, Meryvn's nephew. Haha. He's so hyperactive, i believe hes probably suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He called Regina "sotong ball"! He also made me play 'chopsticks' with him, to his own rules! We played 'scissors, paper, stone' & he wanted to give me a "Char Siew Pao" to box me. Alamaks. Haha. He's still super adorable because he speaks with a TV-acquired American accent. He punctuate his speech with "pal" & "dude"! I cant think of any other 7-year old boy who speaks like that! Soon, his maid came to collect him & send him to bed. PHEW... Suddenly, it became too quiet.

After cleaning up the area, we packed up all our leftover food. Which was A LOT. I hope Meryvn & his mom enjoyed the beehoon, chicken wings, duck meat & curry today. Haha. So anyway, some of them went to pick Daphne up to join us post dinner. (Supposedly for Supper, but we were wayyyy too full.) Too bad WuHui & Sushi had to leave earlier. SengKang Boy was probably so disappointed. Anyway, im really paiseh cos the Champagne which i brought seemed to have LAO FONG already. The colour's really dark & it was NOT bubbly at all. Haha.

So when the entire entourage came home, the guys were too gutless to watch the horror shows on cable tv, we played some drinking games with the champagne. Shawn said it was "nasty"- OOPs. Haha, so we played '3 kings' first. Continued with CokeCola when the champagne ran out. Urgh. Afterwhich, we had an enlightening Truth or Truth session. Haha. I shall keep the details private. :) Next, we moved on to 'Indian Poker'. You know, having to down the entire mug of water is unbearable. Justin did that a few times too. Heheh. Lastly, it was the 'Polar Bear' game which was really funny.

We hung around at his place until 6am this morning. We had Macs breakfast at Kallang & then reached home at 8am. Entered Lala-land at 8.30am. I woke up at 4pm because i have my tennis lesson at 5+pm.

The tennis lesson was different because Coach Simon wasnt around today. Instead, the overall head taught us & he focused on all the technique basics. The grip, the footwork, the posture. Although the pace was really slow, it cleared up my doubts. While its really useful, I really hope Coach Simon comes back SOON. Otherwise, I will buay tahan with his teaching style. Zzzzzzzzz

How embarrassing can it get? Imagine yourself doing exotic dance (something like catwalk seductively, at least, I was TRYING to). Then, a pair of indian workers walked by and happened to see me! Ahhh, so i was trying to talk to my friends to coverup what i was doing. I said, "Hello... You know, blah blah blah." And they thought i was talking to them, so they replied. Yikes. Horrible.

I spent this evening in school, hidden away in a secluded corner, learning exotic dance level 1 from my salsa girlfriends. Haha. I feel extremely self-conscious trying to act sexy. It is so tiring. Maybe thats why so many women fake orgasms. Alright, honestly, it was fun. Anyway, after that torturous session, i think that my legs are forever crossed when i walk. Gosh! No matter what, I really appreciate my girlfriends for teaching me this stuff! MUACKS to Widah, Latifah & Rachel!

Moving on... I forsee a hectic day tomorrow... I have 3 places to visit in the evening & i have no car, no driver. :( Mad still said that we might be going clubbing at night, for the main purpose of seeing Chris's new girlfriend. Its like, everything changed after I came back from China. I'm so curious...

Today's weather was fabulous, albeit a little too warm for my liking. Nevermind, at least I finally realised that the sky is blue & that the sun hasnt exploded and faded away.

Before I met up with my dearest girlfriends in the afternoon, I sent my china photos for developing. The bill came up to a whooping 90bucks for almost 200 pics. :s Afterwhich, we just spent the nice afternoon lounging in my room, catching up, reminscing & bitching. Haha.

Afterwhich, i met up with my happy horny hockers! For dinner at ThaiExpress in Marina Square. We ate so much, i almost burst. Urgh. Then we went down to clarke quay to have some hagen daz icecream by the river. Im surprised that its so dirty & still remain relatively odourless. Do you think they add deodorant to the water? Haha.

Tourists on the bumboat ignored us when we waved to them! We would have appreciated a couple of camera flashes or at least some response... Maybe they thought we were just a bunch of drunk hooligans. Nevertheless, just hanging around, doing nothing much in particular, talking randomly & bitching is really therapuetic & fulfilling.

After a short while spent in Cafe Iguana, we headed back home in Stef's spanking new Subaru car. Woohoo. Its a kinda car which you can drive past MOS without feeling paiseh. Its not like a flashy Mini Cooper, but you know its desirable. Plus, Stef's a great driver too. During our spin, we found out that Deep is completely hopeless with directions. She couldnt direct us to her HOME. Haha. So we got the long ride we wanted...

By the way, my latest discovery of the day- my newest grey top can be worn as a top or as a slinky dress. :)

Aint I so easily pleased & amused? I'm happy, are you?

Since the Shanghai + Jiang Nan post is taking ages to compose, I'll talk about last night's salsa party first.

Groove's That 70's Xmas Show was held at DXO. It was super small, especially the dance floor. You cant dance without hitting somebody or something. Anyway, the theme was obviously set in the swinging 70s! So... Check out our outfits! Haha.

My China trip was pretty alright, i suppose. At least I had my brother with me, who was decent company. My tour group had 22 people, made up of 4 families, 1 couple & a pair of aunties (who are neighbours). Unfortunately, no cute guys! Haha. Anyway, we toured Shanghai, Suzhou, Wu Xi, Nanjing & Hangzhou. To sum up my experience- 上有天堂,下有苏杭。(Meaning- There is heaven above; On earth, there is Suzhou & Hangzhou). I agree with this old chinese saying as it havnt changed.

Day 0- The midnight flight to Shanghai was unbearable. The airplane food was surprisingly edible, but I could barely sleep with minimal leg room. The cabin was too bright & noisy for me to have a good rest.

Day 1- So eventually we touched down at around 5+am in Shanghai, after the customs, we met our sullen looking tour guide (小诸). Apparently, we lost the 2 aunties & everyone was frantically searching for them. After they were found, we had to have KFC for breakfast cause everything else in the train station wasnt open. Afterwhich, we got to take a ride on their spanking new & hi-tech Magnetic Levitation Train. Which was really cool cause in about 15 mins we reached the area near to Shanghai's city centre. We then visited the Oriental Pearl TV Tower & then 朱家角(described as Venice of the East by Marco Polo). After a long bus ride, we reached Suzhou. Visited many places, but i was too cold to enjoy the attractions.

Day 2- One of the many checkpoints was the Singapore-Suzhou industrial park. We actually dropped by to take some pictures. They even have a Merlion there! For some reason, it was smiling?? I dont have its picture cos I was too frozen to reach for my camera. Then, it was night-time shopping in Suzhou! It was a shoe-lover's paradise! There were so many shoes, so little time! Gosh, there were mostly boots, so I only got a pair of low-heeled cowboyish boots to wear on this trip. Its far to warm to wear boots in hot & humid Singapore. I had to brave the cold while shopping. It was surely worth it tho. :D

Day 3- Our first stop of the day, 9was to buy silk products. My tour group bought silk blankets & silk comforters in bulk. My family bought a set for each member too. Then we went to Wu Xi's 太湖 & there was the mandatory boat ride (again...) Next, we visited the TV serial's Romance of the 3 Kingdoms' set. My bro got captured by a horde of Chinese girls & they made him wear a general's costume, with a huge knife & all. (So he'll hafta pay for the polaroid picture taken for him.) He was surprisingly sporting, posing for my mom to take pictures. Anyway, I thought u'd want to know that, that place was Freezing as well. I hate the punishing cold wind. We visited the teapot museum in the evening. My mom managed to refrain my dad from buying a teapot cause we thought that we have had many many tea pot sets at home. (I was nosing around the family collections & apparently we were wrong. Now my mom regrets not buying a nice set to bring home.) We visited Wu Xi's shopping centre/department store at night. Nothing special though. I got a sweater for the COLD weather. My bro finally got a proper outerwear/coat thingie. Now he looks all puffed up wearing it- Yokozuna!

Day 4- We were brought to the Pearl shop to buy pearls products. At the introductory talk, we were made to guess the number of pearls inside the living oyster. My mom guess 22 which was our hse number & she hit the jackpot. She won a packet of pearl powder for cosmetic uses. Haha. I got some pearl braclets to be given away as gifts. My mom bought a Black Pearl Pendant & chain after a sensational bargain, leaving the manager's face blacker than her purchases. She managed to lower the price by half! Back to the bus, we travelled to Nanjing by road. There, we met Xiao Zhao, our lovely female local tour guide. We call Jiang Nan's pretty girls- "Aiyoyo". Honest. I was like wahhh!? She's like a recorder, she'll run her tape on the bus, telling us info about the history, the culture, the signifance & background of a particular attraction. When she is interrupted, she'll forget where she stopped. Then she'll rewind to that particulat chapter & reguritate everything again. In the exact same words. Haha.

The Nanjing Bridge left a more memorable impression on me due to its historical background. It had a moving story behind it & it related to the modern history of china which i have studied about. Nanjing's Fu Zi Miao had an enjoyable stretch of shops & stalls at night to sightsee. We even had gelato in the frosty evening. I tried their 臭豆腐 which was pretty good.

Day 5- We went to view Jade. My mom hissed at me not to buy anything there, after that strengthenous bargaining the day before. Guess what? My mom ended up buying a jade bracelet. We had a super early lunch & we embarked on our uper-long journey to Hangzhou. Thats where we cruised along leisurely in Xi Hu. It is a picturesque lake which has inspired many past scholars & poets with its beauty. The locals seem to like the place too. It's like their East Coast Park with better weather & scenery. Unfortunately, the couple's camera dropped into the lake when he was holding the cam outside the boat. Then we proceeded to a tower on a hilltop. It became really lovely when the sky dimmed & the lights were lit. After dinner, we went to see a musical & dance extravanganza about hangzhou's culture & history. It was so cliched, i was so jaded with such shows catered for the tourists, i thought that there wasnt much value. I was more interested in the 2 brothers seated in front of me. Haha- hey, i was bored!

Day 6- We took an early morning walk in this pretty park once more. It was raining & my feet were thoroughly soaked. Urgh. But I was trigger happy because Hangzhou is such a camera-friendly place. She reminds me of Singapore- so perfectly manicured & pruned to perfection. The city area is even more luxe than orchard rd, just imagine the entire area as a giant Paragon. That would be more fitting to describe it. There after, we went to visit a tea-producing village & we bought lots of Long Jing Cha. I love green tea! We then travelled back to Shanghai after lunch.

We reached Shanghai in the late afternoon. We were than told that we have to go to a hotel for some health seminar thingie. In the room we were told that we are given free feet massage. Once u have agreed, their physicians will zero in on you & tell you that u are unwell & then convince you to buy their medicine. Its a bloody scam. The happy family in front believed the man's lies about how their youngest child is sickly and all. I think they spent 6000SGD to buy their products. My dad had to fend off another physician as well, but my dad is a professional, after a couple of lines, the physician seemed really pissed off & he left us in peace. Haha. My dad then chatted to the girl masseur happily. He even jokingly asked her to his daughter-in-law. Finally, we left that sleezy place, had our dinner and then went to the Bund to take in the night time sights & sounds. I tell you, its nothing less than gorgeous. You can see the pictures for yourself!

Day 7- We went to Temple area with the Yu Yuan bazaar. We chanced upon a godsend! a TWO YUAN shop in shanghai. We also visited a backdoor counterfeit shop which had an accessories shop facade. We had some xiao long pau during lunch too. We were dropped off at RafflesCity after lunch. Since they carry familiar brands like Roxy, Quiksilver, Novo etc, We didnt waste our time there. We forgot about the underground mall & headed to Nanjing Lu, which was super packed. We then went to Huai Hai lu, which was equally boring because they carry upmarket brands. Xu Jia Hui was boring too. We felt so lousy, having unproductive shopping. We went back to the hotel & had dinner in the building opposite. We went for massage at night too. Man, it hurt.

Day 8- Our last day. We woke up late, had our breakfast buffet. Went to pack up, watch my Return of the Condor Heroes TV serials until noon. Checked out & went out to explore the area around the hotel. It was a pleasant walk down the street and into the alleys to see the locals going about their daily lives. They were all friendly when we take out our cameras to snap pics. They seemed as curious about us, as we are about them. The best part was that we finally found cheap buys! After lunch, we went along another street in another direction and came to a bazaar with stuff i was looking for. Its the best shopping so far. I would say its the highlight of our trip. After dinner, we went to the airport. The muddle-headed group leader left his bag at the hotel lobby. For goodness sake, are we supposed to take care of him, or was it supposed to be the other way around. For the past 8 days, he was just a pain in the neck, being a naggy person without giving us any constructive advise. Good Riddance. I hope he retires soon.

Day 9- Touched down in Singapore at 5+am. Got home n crashed. Zzz. Thats about it. Enjoy the pictures!

Congrats to IKEA on its new Tampines outlet. Happy shopping because those Flat-packed items are NOT "easy to transport" (contrary to what they say). They were so heavy and bulky, it was downright ridiculous to lug them to the cashier/checkout counter first, before going to the delivery counter to tell them to deliver the items. I mean, if we are already gonna use the delivery service, u might as well collect everything for us! Due to the fact that we've got too much things to purchase, THAT IS WHY WE NEED DELIVERY, right? Just because you're the biggest (and probably the most powerful) charity organisation in the world doesnt warrant you making us suffer for your capitalist ways. Furniture + $40 delivery charge + 5% assembly fees will probably come up to the usual price you get at your heartland furnishing shop. Plus, they probably have better service. I had the most awful shopping experience on Wed. I wonder how my Dad managed to settle everything flawlessly a few years ago. Anyhow, I feel stupid for being duped by their annual glamourous catalogue-magazines showcasing all the gorgeous interiors, enticing us to spend money... Grrr. Our beloved giant money-guzzling organisation just got bigger & better! The only redeeming thing is their meatballs. Haha.

Well, after that nightmarish day, i rushed home and then out to meet my greatly missed girlfriends at cityhall. It was a girls night out. They wanted to go MOS for the Levis Party & i couldnt dissuade them cause they probably wanted the FREE goodie bags. Haha. FYI, the queue snaked all the way to coffeeclub. So we decided TCC was more exciting, since i havnt had a proper dinner yet. By the way, I think TCC's service standards have improved tremendously, sometimes i'm overwhelmed- to the point where I doubt its sincerity. But i think its in the right direction and i appreciate it. :)

Friday night was great mostly because I met up with IVY after almost half a year. We fell out sometime in August or September due to some stuffs. I'm glad its all behind us now & shes still my Evil-twin. So, the entourage of 4 went to Gotham Penthouse to check the place out. Its a pretty intimate & cosy environment, with the usual commercial R&B tunes which you can sing along to. The service's warm too, except for the overenthusiastic server who insisted 1 lady is only allowed a glass- Fine, chill man, we got the message. Then there was the vaguely deaf bartender who needs a loudhailer to get his attention. Otherwise, everyone else were sweethearts. I'll recommend that place to hold private parties or events.

The crowd is generally well-behaved & the place is probably the freshest smelling nightspot I've been to. I credit well-ventilation & the scarcity of smoke/fume-making machines. We only had to fend off a couple of undesirable guys. We were offered drinks by this drunk Australian Chinese (who was rubbing his behind with another blonde woman- urgh). I think it was spiked... Thankfully we ignored him & found refuge on the dancefloor. Until the gross Jason guy kept tryin to get himself into our circle. Urgh. Ivy's Steven from Belgium was probably the best catch but hes shy, and thats a quality i appreciate in this situation. So, as u can tell by now, majority of the men there arent really attractive, unless u dig angmoh and indian men... OH yeah, & the DJ was hilarious. He kept making his own remarks & comments, he might as well say, "EVERYBODY SCREAM!" Haha, he seemed more like a novice emcee at some Kids central party. At least, it was entertaining. So after all that, i slept at almost 5am cause I had to do springcleaning at 4am this morning when wanhua came over to my place to crash. My room is in a total mess.

Tennis lesson #1. Haha. I felt extremely overaged for it, but it was fun. Who wanna play tennis with me now?

I'm supposed to be out n about, living it up in my supposedly "happening" lifestyle tonight. But i dont feel up to it. I'm too tired. Sorry guys for pangsehing. My friends were at the Marmalade Pantry having dinner & partying somewhere now. I hope they have fun. I feel so dowdy being at home on a Saturday Night! well... Since i wont be home starting tues night, I should be a homebody for now. Pass me the apron & the broom!

PS. latest updates- HAHAHA. We are all homebodies today. Apparently, only Kunal met Elvin for dinner. And now, everyones at home & online! HAHAHA!